36:21.58N 07:00.03W Fog and Bimini , onwards to the Med
Tioram 4
Tina & Tony
Fri 19 Jun 2009 20:18
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Well Hello again to family and
friends,
0100 this friday morning saw us closing on Cap San
Vincent after 861nm and at 0300 we finally turned to port to set a
course for the Gibraltar Straits. This description sounds poetic however the
reality was we were motoring in a heavy damp sea mist which became a thick fog.
Rob and John were on the middle night watch 12 till
0400 when the mist was thickening and by 0400 when Tina and Tony
joined them we needed all four people to keep a vigilent watch. Our
engine speed was reduced on a flat calm almost oil like sea. The visibility
was about 50m, so we gently edged forward with Tioram's fog horn sounding, all
eyes peeled in the white out and the fellas working as a formidable team on the
radar and chart table to plot our safe course away from the shipping
seperation zone off Portugal.
The normal watch system was abandoned to maximise
safe passage after John had done a straight six hour watch and Rob
seven alonside Tina and Tony we began a one person off
watch rotation. . The air was so damp
overnight, everyone had wet foulie geer and mist on our hats which
looked like frost. We worked as a
great team to give one another some sleep time and the all important cups of
soup, teas and especially when the fog was at it's thickest----chocolate
biscuits----and broke open the Cadburys slab of chocolate----a great comfort
!!!!!
1330 saw the visability lifting to
approx 2 n.miles and by 1425 it was baking hot again and a pod of
whales were heading west off the port beam.
We all had showers, did the obligatory washiing
of 'pants' and t shirts and had an amazing lunch under the bimini. The
picture taken could have been used as a comedy sketch---- four clean well fed
and happy people with the on deck table laid and food prepared by Rob and
John surrounded by drying foul weather gear, boots,hats, towels and pants
!!!
The lads toasted passing Algarve into
Spain with a beer ! Not that we could see it 30 nmiles
out.
Life on board is very pleasant with everyone having
a nice time together---it is at these moments at sea when the harmony of
personalities and the sailing/domestic life comes together and you feel like you
could sail on for a long time.
Sailing has it's highs and lows. Nauseas
waves for 3 days out of Falmouth / Biscay and Tony's sea sickness led Tina
to remind Tony that they should have bought a camper van called Tioram instead.
The fog last night and into today requires skill, vigilance, a leap of
faith into the night bonding the crew together.
Lunch today with friends in hot sunshine, beautiful
indigo blue ocean and playful dolphins are the highs----and could have been made
perfect---- if we could have been sailing rather than motoring in light
winds.
The de-salination unit is working well providing
fresh water from a beautiful ocean----we are motoring now 6 knots-----Rob just
called to everyone---'Do you want a cup of tea' and the lads are debating the
relationship between UTC minus one and BST time zones-----it's all greek to Tina
!!!!!
Nautical miles travelled 970. We look forward to
entering the Med tomorrow going through the Gibraltar Straits around
0800.
Our love is sent to you all ,
Rob, John, Tony and Tina x x x
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